


Dear Mortified Gryphons,

by elaiel



Category: Gryphons (Alyx Jae Shaw)
Genre: (partly), Epistolary, Fluff, Gen, Gifts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-25 01:02:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22007404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elaiel/pseuds/elaiel
Summary: The Mortified Gryphons and their friends receive a rather large package from Earth.
Relationships: Atterick Cruze/Teirra Sandiniti, Draephus CZimcocious/Raski Jervyas, Khandid Stracona/Yuri Stracona
Comments: 5
Kudos: 6





	Dear Mortified Gryphons,

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The_Magic_Rat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Magic_Rat/gifts).



> For Alyx.

The hammering on the door woke the faelins who instantly started up a clamour of whoops and barks. Draephus dragged himself out of bed as the door was opened below, no doubt by Raski and the noise of the faelins dropped into yips and yammers as they greeted friends, before winding up again into excited yowling.

“Get up!” Mars yelled up the stairs. 

“Šukat off!” Draephus yelled back, pulling on some pants. 

The noise of some kind of heavy equipment started up, and he could hear more voices as people came into his house. 

Draephus scowled and staggered down the staircase into his hallway.

“What the šukat is that?” He demanded, staring at the large rectangular metal box sitting in his hallway on wooden skids. It was a head or so taller than he was and twice as long, and as he walked around it he could see it had evidently Earth lettering on each side and large double doors at each end.

“Khandi’s cousin sent it.” Dahli said. 

“Forwarded it.” Khandi said. “It’s from Gemma, From Earth. There’s a letter.” He waved a bundle of papers at Draephus.

“Why is it in my hallway?” He demanded.

“Because you’re the only one with enough room, obviously.” Khandid told him. “Apparently it’s presents. For all of us. That’s why we’re all here. If you ever answered your com when I called you’d know we were coming.”

Draephus gave up and sat down on a bench.

“Go ahead if you have to.”

“Why is there three copies of the letter?” Khandid leaned over Mars’ shoulder to look at it.

“She wrote it in English and Sferkkaan, but her Sferkkaan was so bad that Mordrett had it professionally translated, just in case.”

Khandid nodded, bouncing on his toes. “Well open it!”

“Let me read the letter out first!”

Yuri wandered over to the big box and managed to get the doors on one end open, revealing a large number of smaller boxes and crates, all labelled in Sferkkaan. From where he sat, Draephus could see Mars and Raski’s name on boxes.

“We’ll be here forever if we wait for you.” J’Vanni said, took the letter from Mars and began reading.

_ “Dear Mortified Gryphons and other more or less Mortified friends,”  _ He read, pausing for the laughs to subside. He started again. 

_ “Dear Mortified Gryphons and other more or less Mortified friends,  _

_ I hope you’re all okay. It was absolutely crazy coming to Sferkkaa and meeting you all. The music was awesome and I’ll never forget you all.  _

_ Since we got back to Earth it’s been completely mad. You wouldn’t believe the amount of talk shows and concerts and guest appearances I’ve been doing! Anyway, I wanted to say thank you for everything, not only did I have an awesome time meeting you all, my career has gone completely nuts and I’m raking it in.” _

J’Vanni paused to consult the formal translation. “She’s now even more famous and getting much richer.” He clarified.

_ “Anyway, being as you showed us all loads of your culture and history, I wanted to send you all a care package with some traditional stuff from Earth. Sorry for the big container, once I mentioned it to some of the others, they wanted in on it as well so it may have got a bit out of hand. There’s a load of messages in one of the boxes from Sigge and Missy and a whole bunch of other people. I wrote LETTERS on that box. _

_ SO, as well as a load of traditional Earth food which has been guaranteed safe for Sferkkaans - the big brown crates in the middle - I’ve packed some personal gifts for all of you. Traditional things from different places on Earth. Seriously, I’m glad there’s no customs declaration on shipping stuff to Sferrka, else this would have been totally stopped at the border! _

_ Draephus. You are SO hard to buy presents for! I thought about buying you a Rock and Roll drum kit, but you like make your own so that would be a bit of a rubbish present. You do like big warm clothes though, so if you find the box marked Draephus 1…”  _

Draephus caught the box that Yuri threw at his head.

_ “...there is a  _ Gansey.  _ This is a traditional sweater made of sheep’s wool (there’s a picture of a sheep in the box) and worn by fishermen (see second picture). It comes from a place called the British Isles, some of the littler islands there, and is nice and warm. I hope it fits. It’s supposed to repel rain quite a bit (why they wore it at sea) and keep you nice and warm. There’s matching mittens and socks as well. _

_ Also in the box marked Draephus 2 there is a cowbell. This is a percussion instrument that originally hung on the collar of a cow (a big animal that gets farmed all over earth - see picture) so you don’t lose them. I don’t understand why, but Billy (you remember Billy Waters from Blacklight?) says you need this. Apparently you “need more cowbell”. I don’t get it. There’s also a Swiss Army Knife. It’s little, but it has lots of useful blades and tools which fold out of it and it fits in a pocket. They come from a place called Switzerland which is famous for chocolate and clocks. _

_ “The box labelled Faelins has two traditional quilts from North America, one each for Bacca and Czanda to cuddle up in. They are made by piecing fabric together in pretty traditional patterns. Also some cuddly toys that squeak when you squeeze them. I hope they like them.” _

As the box was lifted out of the container, the faelins were already on it, ripping it open and surprisingly carefully removing the contents.  **SQUEAK!** Khandid groaned.  **SQUEAK!**

“She’s created my worst nightmare.” He moaned.

“You shouldn’t be hungover then.” Yuri retorted quietly.

**SQUEAK!**

**SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!**

**SQUEAK!**

**SQUEAK! SQUEAK!**

J'Vanni snorted and went back to the letter, raising his voice over the squeaking and growling from the two faelins.

_ “Raski. You’re really hard to buy for too! So I got you a traditional “top hat and tails”. This is like,  _ _ the _ _ smartest dress for wearing to the most important parties and dinners. So you should totally wear it with army boots and stuff. It originally comes from Europe, but it’s now worn for really really important dinners and events in lots of places on Earth. In box Raski 2 there is a cello. This is a traditional classical instrument from Earth. You drag the bow over the strings to make the notes. There is a book on how to play it. Apparently it sounds terrible while you are learning but amazing when you can play it okay. Well, that’s what Missy says. _

_ “Mars. I really hope these fit, Sigge picked them. Box Mars 1 has traditional clothing from the area of Finland that Sigge comes from. I have no idea what it’s called, but it’s got a really cool little jacket and tight trousers in dark green wool. There is also a bottle of Fisu, which is an alcoholic drink from Finland. You can blame Sigge for all these! K-Shot says that’s all too retro and weird, so there’s a switchblade in there, which is a knife with a blade that pops out. He says they are illegal in most civilised places on Earth. _

_ “Yuri. Please find box Yuri 1. This is a kimono. It’s made of silk, which is an expensive thread which comes out of the ass of bugs. It’s a lot nicer than it sounds. It’s a traditional robe from a place called Japan. It has embroidery on it of flying cranes as they are traditional and lucky there and they reminded me of you. Box Yuri 2 has the rest of the outfit to match. And instructions on how to put it on. Box Yuri 3 has a katana, which is a traditional sword from Japan so you can decapitate your enemies. _

_ Khandid. Because you’re kind of royalty,” _

Khandid snorted. “Kind of.”

_ “….I got you a Grenadier Guards Dress Jacket. See Box Khandid. The most famous royalty on Earth come from the British Isles and the Grenadier Guards are the soldiers that guard their royal family. Also the jacket is really cool and bright red with gold coloured buttons. There’s a picture of the Grenadier Guards on parade for the British Royal Family in there. I also got you a sword cane. Because they are really pretentious. It’s from France, which is famous for being classy and pretentious. Also it’s a sword hidden in a walking stick so what’s not to love?  _

_ Gia. Be careful with your box, it’s heavy!...”  _

“Too clarting right!” Mars said, helping Yuri and Raski man-handle the box labelled J’Vanni out of the container.

_ “You’re really hard to buy for as well. So I bought you a Gendèr metallophone which is traditional in Gamelan music from a place called Indonesia, which is a lot of small islands in the southern hemisphere of earth. I went there on holiday once. There is also a traditional Indonesian Batik (that’s the fabric and pattern) shirt and sarong wrap. I put a picture of a gamelan orchestra wearing the clothes in the box and a recording of them too.  _

_ Delaes I thought you might also like to try a traditional earth musical instrument as well, so I am sending you a set of Bagpipes. And instructions on how to use them. The kind of bagpipes are Highland pipes which come from Scotland. There is also a kilt, which is the traditional mens skirt from Scotland as well. Brian says they wear them into battle with nothing underneath which sounds pretty dangerous to me. Bagpipes are loud. Enjoy! _

_ Dahli you were easy to buy for! Please find box Dahli 1 which has cool girls clothes from Earth. There is a pair of jeans, a bomber jacket, sneakers, flip flops, a mini-skirt, and some other stuff. I hope you like them! Also in box Dahli 2 there is a Darbuka drum which is a traditional drum from Egypt. You hit it with your hands, there’s a book on how to play it too. _

_ Diza I hope you like the earth girl clothes. I’ve put some of those in your box too. And a traditional quilted cover for your bed from my Grandma who made it when she was young. _

_ Czamki, Box Czamkiar 1 has some Earth makeup from what my makeup artist says are the best brands. Box Czamkiar 2 has a coat and some boots which are basically Goth, which is a music sub-culture on earth, but I thought you’d like it. I’ve put some Goth music in there too.” _

“How come he gets the cool sub-culture stuff?” Mars complained.

“Shut up Mars,” Raski pushed him off the chair, “you  **are** a cool subculture.”

“You think?”

“He’s a chilled biological specimen cultured under lab conditions.” Draephus muttered.

_ “Llyrellin the box for you has some of the really cool make up. Also in box Llyrellin 2 is a tanto and wakazashi which are also from Japan and are a knife and a short sword for slashing people up. Apparently they would usually go with a katana, but they are used for fighting indoors or in confined spaces, which I thought might be better. _

_ Atterick there’s a box for you in there too. You’ll find a banjo in there. Corey Hillman sent it, it was his third best banjo, and he thinks there’s not enough banjo on Sferkkaa. Also a cowboy hat. _

_ Teirra, it didn’t seem fair that you didn’t get a present and we didn’t know what to get you. BE CAREFUL YOUR PRESENT IS FRAGILE. We asked my mom and she said every household needs a proper dinner set. So it’s a proper dinner set of plates and stuff chosen by my mom with enough plates and whatever to feed twelve people, which is kind of a lot, but then you can feed all the band and whatever and it doesn’t matter too much if you break one or two, cause that always happens. _

_ Oh, and there’s another box in there somewhere marked KAZOOs. These are from Corey Hillman too, for everyone. They are a musical instrument you hum into. I think he packed about fifty in there. Also some tamborines - you shake them or hit them. _

_ Diza and Delaes you both said you were planning to have a family in the future, I guess that some of the rest of you will and I know everyone said that’s super-important on Sferrka, so I’ve put some earth baby and children’s clothes in there too, and hand-made baby blankets and other things that you can save for the future. Some clothes for bigger children too. You can share them out. The box says FAMILY STUFF on it. _

_ Where I come from it’s traditional to hand on clothes to family and friends when a baby or child gets too big for them, so I hope some of the clothes will get worn by lots of your children. There’s a few things in there that were worn by me and my family when we were little and some things are new. My grandma knitted a whole bunch of things specially when I said about this, and Sigge and Vidar, Missy, Corey, Brian and Billy and lots of the other bands and their families sent things for the box.” _

J'Vanni stopped as Diza and Delaes opened the massive box labelled FAMILY STUFF and started pulling out tiny clothes, shoes, toys and blankets, many with notes pinned to them by the people that had made them saying what they were and how they were made, or that they had belonged to them or their own children now grown up. Khandid surreptitiously wiped a tear from his eye, but half the room were blinking away tears.

“Šukat!” Murmured Yuri looking at a small red sweater with a pattern of some kind of green trees and a brown animal with a red nose in rows on it. The label said it had belonged to K-Shot as a child, that his mother had knitted it for him.

“Yeah.” Khandid said, lifting a soft white blanket with a note on it saying it had been knitted by Vidar’s mother. J’Vanni and Delaes were hunched over a bundle of tiny socks which Delaes had balanced on his very obvious bump, and Dahli Czamki and Llyrellin were squatting near Diza who was smoothing out a small sweater with a printed cartoon picture of something that might be a yellow and red bird on it, with the words “Rock Chick!” underneath and a label saying it had belonged to Brian Millar’s daughter.

Raski looked up at Draephus, fingering a tiny dress in a criss cross pattern of light weight fabric with embroidered flowers across the chest.

Draephus snorted. “I promised, Raski.” He growled. 

Raski smiled as a tear rolled down his cheek.

_ “Anyway, I hope you enjoy all the things, and that everything is still going really well for you guys, maybe I’ll get to see you all again some time. _

_ Lots of love from  _

_ Gemma.” _


End file.
